Press release 05/02/2020

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX. DECEMBER 2019

The industrial year closed with a 4.2% increase for December 2019 in the Basque Country

The industry balance in 2019 saw overall growth of 1.3% on the previous year

Industrial production of the Basque Country in December 2019 was up 4.2% compared to the same month of the previous year, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar, the fifth month of continuous growth, according to Eustat data. The balance for the twelve months of 2019 closed with overall growth of 1.3% on the same period of 2018.

Compared to the previous month, November 2019, the industrial production of the Basque Country fell by 1.9%, once seasonal effects had been corrected.

The performance of the index in December 2019, compared to December 2018, was positive in the major industrial sectors according to their destination, with the exception of Consumer Non-durables. Capital goods were up 12.7%, Energy rose by 4.7%, and Intermediate Goods increased by 0.6%. Consumer Goods as a whole fell by 4.5%, as a result of the decrease of Consumer Non-durables, down 5.8%, while prices of Consumer Durables were up 2.5%.

On the other hand, the month-on-month variation from December 2019 on November 2019 was positive only for Energy, which grew by 2.2%. Capital Goods fell by 5.7%, Intermediate Goods were down by 0.6%, and Consumer Goods dropped by 2.5%, due to the 4.1% decrease in Consumer Durables and the 2.1% fall in Consumer Non-Durables.

Among the largest sectors in Basque industry, those that saw the most significant year-on-year growth in December 2019, were: Transport Material, with a rise of 29.7%; Electricity, Gas & Steam, up 8.2%; and Metallurgy & Metal Products, which increased by 6.8%.

In contrast, year-on-year decreases occurred in the following sectors: Timber, Paper & Graphic Arts, with a decrease of 5.4%; Food, Beverages & Tobacco, with a year-on-year drop of 2.2%; and Electrical Material & Equipment, down 1.0%.

By province, the year-on-year performance of the Industrial Production Index for December showed an upward trend in all three: it rose by 10.6% in Álava, by 3.1% in Bizkaia and 1.8% in Gipuzkoa.

Industrial activity balance for 2019: Electricity, Gas & Steam showed the highest growth, with an increase of 14.5%

The 2019 balance of the Industrial Production Index of the Basque Country registered an increase of 1.3% with regards to the previous year.

By sector, the trend in Electricity, Gas & Steam stood out, posting an increase of 14.5% year-to-date, followed by Electrical Material & Equipment (5.3%), and Furniture & Other Manufacturing Industries (3.7%). Other important sectors such as Rubber & Plastics (1.5%), Transport Material (0.3%), and Metallurgy & Metal Products (0.1%) also closed the year with a positive trend.

In contrast, the sectors that registered the worst results over the year were: Coke Plants & Oil Refining (-15.3%), Computer, Electronic & Optical Products (-3.8%), and Chemical Industry (-3.1%).

According to the classification by economic destination of goods, Energy posted accumulative growth of 5.6%, Capital Goods increased by 1.7% and Consumer Goods as a whole saw a rise of 1.9%. Within the latter, Consumer Durables increased by 2.6%, and Consumer Non-durables by 1.7%. Intermediate Goods was the only sector which posted a decrease (-0.3%) in 2019 compared to 2018.

The accumulated variation in 2019 registered distinct changes in the three provinces: in Bizkaia there was an increase of 4.2% and in Gipuzkoa there was a rise of 0.5%, while in Álava there was a decrease of 1.9%.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62